Iran Says Waiting Period For Response "May Be Long". Hamas: Biden Not Serious About Proposal, Only Wants To Extend Gaza Offensive
IRGC spokesman Alimohammad Naini said, "Time is in our favor and the waiting period for this response could be long".
IRAN/ISRAEL - A spokesman for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says the waiting period before Iran responds to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on July 31st in Tehran "could be long".
IRGC spokesman Alimohammad Naini said, "Time is in our favor and the waiting period for this response could be long".
Regarding U.S. efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East and end pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza, Naini stated that while Iran supports ending the war, "We do not consider the U.S. actions sincere. We consider the U.S. to be a party to the war."
Iranian state media has also cited Hamas as saying that the United States and Israel are "seeking to prolong the Gaza war" rather than end it.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Israel has accepted a proposal to iron out the issues hindering a cease-fire from being realized and called on Hamas to accept the proposal.
It did not say, however, whether Hamas's concerns had been addressed in the proposal, but said that it may be the "last opportunity" for a ceasefire to be realized.
Egypt on Tuesday also called for a cease-fire, adding that the ongoing conflict could expand into a regional war if a deal isn’t reached.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said in a statement after a meeting in El Alamein with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, “The time has come to end the ongoing war, and to resort to wisdom, and to uphold the language of peace and diplomacy”.
He added that all parties involved must be wary of the “danger of the conflict expanding regionally”, and that the risks posed of broader warfare would be “difficult too imagine”.